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Midlothian woman accused of setting shed on fire while her brother was inside

Posted at 9:13 AM, Dec 15, 2014
and last updated 2014-12-15 20:58:51-05

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- A family feud goes up in flames and lands a Midlothian woman behind bars charged with arson.

"We look in our back yard and there's just this huge fireball all of this smoke, it's crazy it's black and thick we just didn't know what was going on," said Midlothian resident Miranda Shroyer.

Thick black smoke and flames lit up a Midlothian neighborhood just after seven Monday morning.

"I was sitting there drinking my morning coffee and heard a major explosion. There were flames about 60 feet up in the air," said, neighbor Todd Shroyer.
A family feud goes up in flames and lands a Midlothian woman behind bars charged with arson.

"We look in our back yard and there's just this huge fireball all of this smoke, it's crazy it's black and thick we just didn't know what was going on," said Midlothian resident Miranda Shroyer.

Thick black smoke and flames lit up a Midlothian neighborhood just after seven Monday morning.

"I was sitting there drinking my morning coffee and heard a major explosion. There were flames about 60 feet up in the air," said, neighbor Todd Shroyer.

Billie Cain and fire

The flames were coming from a shed in the 4500 block of Twelveoaks road.

Investigators say, 29 year old Billie Anne Cain, intentionally set the fire with her sleeping brother inside.

The victim was awakened by his girlfriend, who he says, saw Cain douse the shed with gasoline before starting the blaze. He got out unharmed, with his girlfriend, a friend and infant but his livelihood went up in smoke. He said he was living in the building with his girlfriend, another friend and an infant.

"I'm shocked that anybody survived it," said Todd Shroyer. "I mean it was a major explosion and kept hearing smaller explosions."

"Fire crews arrived to find a 16ft x 16ft shed fully involved with fire. The shed was a total loss and contained items such as tools, a sofa, and a refrigerator," Chesterfield Fire and EMS spokesman Lt. Jason Elmore said. "There was one person in the shed at the time of the fire, but was able to escape without injury. It took crews approximately 15 minutes to get the fire under control."

"Oh my gosh, I am so glad everybody is okay," said neighbor Miranda Shroyer. "Wow, it could have been so much worse. Like I said it was a huge blaze. Everybody is just really lucky. It was just a lucky day for those people."

Cain is charged with a class one felony of arson to an occupied dwelling. She could face five years to life in prison.

The shed was a total loss. It contained items such as tools, a refrigerator and a sofa.

Meanwhile, Chesterfield County is investigating code violations at the residence.

Investigators have not discussed Cain's motive, nor have they said why they believed the fire was intentionally set.

Watch CBS 6 News at 5 for updates on this developing story.

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